


A Flare for the Romantic

by emofitz (morbid_beauty)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Multi, Polyamory, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23190562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morbid_beauty/pseuds/emofitz
Summary: In a universe where soulmates are the norm, a flare is the moment when two soulmate’s eyes meet and they feel their connection for the first time. It usually only happens to a person once but Fitz has a lot of love to go around.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz/Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23
Collections: Avengers fics I love





	A Flare for the Romantic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [for_the_love_of_wolves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/for_the_love_of_wolves/gifts).



> I’ve wanted to write a soulmate AU for a while so getting this prompt was exciting! And the ship let me write polyamory too so I’m really winning.
> 
> <3

The first time Fitz saw it happen, he was 11. This is a relatively young age for a flare to occur though not entirely unheard of. Still, witnessing it happen to his peers of the same age was odd. Flares were events old people spoke of fondly, and crappy television shows exploited for continued viewership. Not something you saw in the schoolyard.

They were both girls, in different classes, didn't see much of each other. Only that afternoon, they caught each other's eyes from across the way. Fitz had been speaking to one, but she ignored him when it happened. Her eyes were huge and her mouth slowly fell open. The girls ran to each other, hugged tightly, squealed that they were best friends forever now. The teachers had no idea what to do, except to put the girls in a class together. They were insufferable otherwise.

As Fitz got older, he received conflicting reports about what having a soulmate felt like. People often used the word _need_ , and described what felt like a physical pull at the center of their chests attracting them to their partner. Some described an amiable need, wanting always to spend time with their partner and know them, like the girls in the schoolyard. Others described a physical need, to hold them and be held by them, though adults never explicitly discussed the sexual part of that. And for some, there was a physical need without a need for sex. The weirdest part for Fitz was always knowing what someone else is feeling, no matter where they were. Most people didn’t even find it intrusive. In fact, they thought it was great to be so close to someone.

As for the flare, Fitz could never forget how that girl described that moment to him: it was like seeing someone you didn't remember you were missing, and feeling so elated at the sight of them. His father told him he’d never know the feeling and should stop hoping for it. But Fitz always, secretly did. Even if it wasn’t likely for him. His father never flared, afterall. Maybe the unlucky gene was hereditary.

Unsurprisingly, flares often happened during times where groups of people would be meeting for the first time. That made every event the potential start of the rest of your life, which was nerve-wracking on its own. Moving to the United States to attend S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy was one such major event for Fitz.

The first time a flare happened for him, he was 16. Still pretty young. He was a little lost on his way to class that first week, and made it just before the lecture started. Out of breath, he threw his books on the table, startling the girl next to him. She turned to him, and he heard her gasp.

"Sorry..." Fitz said, thinking it would be a crappy start to a first day. When he looked at her nothing else mattered.

She stood from her chair and they were face to face, eye to eye. Fitz's mouth hung open, and her lips curled up in an excited smile. She twisted her hands together, and Fitz felt that frenetic energy too, shaking his knees as he wondered whether to… What should he do? Their eyes stayed connected, and Fitz felt a sense that he wasn't alone anymore, and he never would be again. It was peaceful.

"Everyone, please be seated," said the professor, waiting a moment before repeating himself.

But they couldn't. They couldn't sit, they needed to move, but to do what? Fitz wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to hold her hand. When she studied him, he did the same, feeling self-conscious under her gaze but thinking she was gorgeous.

“Day one flare for the freshmen!” someone shouted, and a few people cooed.

“Alright, alright, settle down,” the professor said. “Do you need to leave the classroom? You're not gonna miss much.”

“No, we-” the girl said, just as Fitz enthusiastically said, “Definitely.” A few more giggles from classmates. Evidently, finding your soulmate didn't mean finding someone that thought exactly like you. The girl sat back down, not looking away from Fitz until he followed suit.

It was the strangest class of Fitz's life. She was sitting next to him and he could feel her so intensely, like he was the one sitting there or she was the one sitting here. He heard her breathing, saw the way her palm brushed her notebook page as she wrote, felt all her anxiety confuse itself with excitement. There really wasn't much to learn that day, which was excellent because his stomach twisted when she leaned over his notebook to write on the top of the page. ‘Jemma,’ the note read in her neat handwriting.

He returned the favor, writing ‘Fitz’ on her margin. She smiled, spoke his name softly under her breath, and he was instantly in love.

After class, they stood outside for a long time, hugging each other in the orange glow of the sunset. His favorite part will always be when they were feeling the same thing, and it was like they were tuned to the same frequency. At that moment, they were both calm and comfortable and happy.

It got a little complicated the second time Fitz flared. By then, Fitz was well into his 20s and didn't expect much to change in his life when it came to that respect. He and Jemma were going strong, with plans to return to Britain to marry. It took several years for their relationship to go beyond a friendship, something they were both happy with, which is why it had taken them so long to become engaged. The trajectory made sense for them. They had always loved each other.

Meeting Lance Hunter would temporarily throw a wrench in their plans. Fitz had never even found himself attracted to men, beyond a surface level. He definitely didn’t think he’d flare with one. 

“Hello,” said a voice, in the aisle of a hardware store, one unsuspecting afternoon.

Fitz looked toward the voice, frowning, and it felt like getting punched in the chest when their eyes met. "Hi," he managed to say.

And it was immediately, unmistakably a physical need. Fitz had never felt something so strongly. With Jemma, at their young age, it was tender and caring; slow to build, as they built up their love together. Not just some chemical occurrence or biological romance, something that really took them time to establish and make beautiful.

But with this guy, Fitz just wanted to jump his bones.

“I’m Hunter,” said the other man, and of course he was English. Was he a scientist too? Fitz suddenly had a million questions about him and wanted to know the answers to every. Single. One. Desperately. He knew Hunter felt the same: he felt the eager pull in his chest and recognized that it wasn’t just him.

“Fitz,” he said instead, swallowing.

Hunter stepped closer, eyes wide and wild, and Fitz felt hotter the closer he got. They were looking right at each other, their faces centimeters apart. Fitz was fucking panting, his slacks suddenly embarrassing and uncomfortable in how tight they were. What the hell? He studied Hunter, wanting to remember this, noting how gorgeous he was, how devilish his parted lips looked.

“Why aren't we snogging?” Hunter asked, voice a husky whisper.

“I have a soulmate already,” Fitz said apologetically. He felt Jemma’s confusion. No doubt she felt the moment it happened. What was going through her mind?

“Oh,” said Hunter. “So do I.”

“Oh.”

They exchanged numbers, standing a foot away from each other and practically vibrating, agreeing to talk to their significant others before even touching. Fitz was afraid to know what would happen when they touched. Jemma would’ve been excited to know.

“Fascinating!” she said once Fitz told her the specifics of the encounter. “Thank you for telling me before pursuing anything.”

“That's your response?” Fitz said. She’s driving them home because Fitz couldn’t seem to focus on anything but Hunter. “Of course I spoke with you first.”

“You know I find this fascinating, Fitz! Threesomes are much more common than society makes them out to be.”

“But why me? I'm not special.”

Jemma took a deep breath, eyes on the road; she clutched the wheel tighter for a moment, and Fitz felt her engagement ring dig into her skin. He was full of so much doubt. He felt greedy, somehow, for looking at someone else. They both knew he had no choice in the matter. Not really. But he knew he wanted her above everyone else. This didn’t seem fair to her.

“Maybe you needed multiple people to make you realize that you’re wrong,” Jemma said, voice soft. She was excited for him and not even a little bit worried. He hung onto that feeling. Thinking of Hunter made it easier.

“It's not just a threesome,” Fitz added.

She smiled again. “Fascinating.”

Jemma thought Fitz and Hunter should spend time together first, before introducing each other's girlfriends. As long as everyone was on board, of course, they should spend a day together: see how they worked together, how they were as a couple. What their chemistry was like, who they were when it was just the two of them. Turned out, Hunter's girlfriend suggested something similar. So the boys rented a hotel room downtown and went at it.

They didn't even think about it. The second the door closed behind them, they were all over each other. Fitz needed to touch and kiss Hunter, to make up for what felt like lost time; he was curious to find out what this would be like, too. When Fitz was hesitant and shy, Hunter gave him encouraging kisses and took his lead. They only used their hands this time, but it was awesome because they would have a million more tries to do way better things. Fitz was a lot less nervous about the prospect when he saw the expression Hunter made when he orgasmed. Fucking beautiful.

They sat up against the pillows together, Fitz’s arms around his waist and his head against his chest. Hunter hugged his shoulders possessively and turned the TV on in the corner. He switched the channel to a football match. Fitz smirked.

“Ever been with a man before now?” Hunter asks, cheek falling against the top of Fitz’s head.

“No,” said Fitz. “You?”

Hunter chuckled. “Yeah, mate.”

“So I’m that obvious?”

“I’m looking forward to being your first.”

Fitz was too, very much, like absolutely holy shit. Hunter laughed again.

“Jemma never lets me watch football in bed,” Fitz said, smiling and settling into the afterglow under the glow of the television. They would go out to eat after this. Maybe shower first.

“I'm nervous to meet her,” Hunter said, sheepish for the first time. They’d been talking for weeks now and he’d never shown he had a single nervous bone in his body.

“Why?”

“What if I flare with her?”

Fitz hadn't considered that. It quickly became apparent that this meeting could be a bigger deal than originally thought.

The most recent time Fitz saw a flare happen was that afternoon.

Jemma had woken up early to bake. She was a nervous baker. She made cornish pasties, a couple victoria sponge cakes, so much pudding. There was no rhyme or reason to it. She just needed to be doing something instead of sitting around and waiting. Fitz helped where he could, because their dual spiraling anxieties just chased each other in their chests and being idle was going to make him keel over too. Hunter was in a slightly better mood, as excited as he was nervous for them to finally be fully acquainted. “We’re gonna be a family,” Hunter had said.

They finished baking 10 minutes before Hunter was meant to arrive with Bobbi. They sat on the couch and looked at their little buffet of mostly sweets. Jemma nuzzled Fitz’s shoulder.

The knock on the door startled them both but Jemma felt instant relief while Fitz’s own anxiety spiked. They were early. Jemma quickly got up to answer the door and Fitz trailed behind her, subconsciously looking around at their home. The knick knacks they’d collected over the previous decade, the minimalist decor, the paint they kept changing because they just couldn’t settle on a color. Would they like it? How often would they visit? Where would they all live? The logistics swam around in his anxious brain.

“Fitz…” Jemma said, looking through the peephole.

He settled his hand on her lower back. She stepped back and settled into his side. He opened the door.

It hit more like a wave this time, shocking and all at once, taking him under and consuming his full attention. He felt the unmistakable familiar presence of a new person in his head. But it wasn’t in his head. Jemma squeaked, covering her mouth with both hands, and Bobbi’s friendly smile faded. They only stared at each other, silent, and Fitz looked at Hunter for confirmation

Jemma wanted to hug Bobbi _so bad_.

“Did not expect that,” said Hunter.

“Yeah, no,” Fitz said.

“Should we give them a minute?”

“No!” both girls said. Then Bobbi’s eyes met Fitz’s, Jemma’s met Hunter’s, and...oh.

It was a lot. It was too much to be happening in a doorway. Particularly for Jemma and Bobbi, who had just flared twice in under a minute. For a moment, Fitz couldn’t tell which feelings were his and where Bobbi fit. She was gorgeous and he wanted to hold her; he wanted to cuddle with all of them and have a nice, long nap. No. Fitz didn’t take naps. Hunter wanted that. He was smiling like a complete moron, looking between them, and his excitement undercut the tension; the dam of anxiety burst through and they were all laughing. Jemma surged forward and hugged Bobbi’s waist, fitting her face into her neck. Fitz took Hunter’s hand and pulled him inside, giving him a kiss before leading him into the house. Jemma and Bobbi squeezed each other a little tighter, for a little longer.

“I baked!” Jemma said as they parted. “I’m Jemma.”

Bobbi nodded. “I’m Bobbi,” she said. She glanced over Jemma’s shoulder at Fitz, who smiled shyly. “We brought wine.”

“Good,” Fitz said. “We’re going to need it.”

Fitz didn’t know how long it would take to love them. He was starting to love Hunter; felt all his joy and quirks for weeks now and enjoyed every moment. Bobbi was beautiful, and when they sat on the couch to devour Jemma’s baking - Hunter stuffed his face instantly, thanked the heavens that his new soulmate was such a good chef - he noted how smart and interesting she was, how sweet she was to Jemma. And of course Jemma, his first love and future wife, was glowing. They were a family, like Hunter said. They could figure out the logistics later.


End file.
